Trapping is never boring. One day you may trap raccoons and opossum, the next day coyote and fox. Some days, however, you may have the oddball call. Not to long ago I received a call from a man in an affluent subdivision. He told me that someone must have dumped chickens in his yard and he wanted them removed. Not knowing how to react to the situation and looking forward to a new challenge, I accepted the contract.

Upon arrival I surveyed the area and noticed that the chickens had migrated into the attached garage. Before contacting the home owner, I walked slowly into the garage and pushed the door opener mounted on the wall. As the door nosily closed, I stood on guard to ensure that no birds would fly or run out.

Once the birds were safely and securely entrapped in the garage, I made contact with the homeowner. It was a mystery to him as to why the chickens suddenly appeared two days earlier. Not only did the homeowner not want the birds on his property, he didn’t care what happened to them.

I counted four hens and two roosters. They were the most beautiful chickens I had ever seen. I don’t know what kind they were but they were tall white and majestic. They reminded me of the rooster on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal box.

After thinking about this situation and formulating a game plan, I decided that the only way to nab the bird was to corner each one and grab it by hand. This was a great idea in theory, however, not as easy as it may sound. After a few minutes, I finally had the first bird cornered. All I had to do was reach out and grab it by the neck. I prepared myself, moving my hand slowly towards the neck. I was a mere inch from success when the chicken started cackling and fluttering its wings. It flew up and over my head, startling me in the process. I tried knocking it down with swinging motions of my arms.

After this failed attempt and feeling like a compete fool, I finally cornered another bird. This time I was ready for the bird to fly and when it did I reached out and grabbed it by a drum stick

It took about a half an hour, but I finally captured all six birds. As I caught each bird I placed it into a live cage. I had three cages, so I placed two birds in each.

With the birds in the back of my truck and the homeowner happy, I left with another fun story to tell my readers. While driving away, I started to call some associates of mine to see if they would like to take the birds off of my hands.

I only had one person that was interested, John lived in the country and his son wanted to raise the chickens. In discussing the logistics to bring John the birds, he asked how the birds were stored. He expressed concern when I told him that I had three cages with two birds in each.

John, told me not to put two roosters in the same cage since they will fight to the death. Upon hearing this I immediately pulled over to check. I had no idea that roosters would fight and I couldn’t remember if I put two roosters in the same cage.

The next morning I met with John and gave him one rooster and four hens.

As always, anytime you require a professional trapper, make sure they are licensed with the Michigan Department of Natural Resource and insured. Cost vary greatly so do your homework and call several trappers and compare pricing for the services offered.

Ron Baker is the owner of Trapper Rons Humane Animal Removal & Relocation Services located in Farmington Hills. He assists homeowners and business with all wildlife nuisance issues in Farmington and surrounding cities. He can be reached at (248) 426-0036.